This invention relates to photodissociation processes in general, and to components, systems, and methods for affecting the ultra fast dissociation of a water molecule in particular.
Photodissociation of the water molecule H2O has been shown in the prior art using various approaches including catalysts, ultraviolet light, superheated steam and solar pumped lasers. Also described are systems employing photo-chemical diodes, photo-voltaics, and various vessel configurations. Problems involved in these prior art systems have included volatility of hydrogen when obtained from superheated steam, excessive costs in systems using ultraviolet light sources, material and maintenance costs of systems employing catalysts, and the lack of gas purity in the gas separation process.
What is therefore needed are systems and methods for water molecule dissociation which provides lower gas volatility, higher gas purity, with lower equipment and maintenance costs.
The present invention provides systems and methods for the ultra fast dissociation of the water molecule at relatively low temperatures (typically between 120-210xc2x0 C.), and at higher purity. The present invention further provides for the use of lower cost, near infrared light sources can be used dissociate the water molecule, and radiolysis techniques which can be used to further increase dissociation efficiency and gas purity.
In one embodiment of the invention, an ultra fast photodissociation system is presented comprising a water acidifier, a water vaporizer, and a photolysis cell. The water acidifier is connected in fluid communication with a water supply, and is operable to acidify the supplied water to produce acidic water. The water vaporizer is connected in fluid communication with the water acidifier to receive the acidic water, and is configured to convert the received acidic water into acidic water vapor. The photolysis cell is connected in steam communication with the water vaporizer to receive the acidic water vapor, and is operable to dissociate the acidic water vapor into H2 and O2 gas.
In a second embodiment of the invention, a photolysis cell is presented which is operable to dissociate water molecules into H2 and O2 gas. The photolysis cell includes one or more photolysis bottles, each photolysis bottle having an inlet configured to receive water molecules, an H2 outlet configured to output H2 gas, and a O2 outlet configured to output O2 gas. Each photolysis bottle further includes an undulated bottle wall defining an interior region of the photolysis bottle, and an optically reflective coating disposed on the undulated bottle wall. The deposited optically reflective coating operates to reflect light back within the interior region of the photolysis bottle, and to effectively reduce the wavelength of the light reflected therefrom.
Other advantages and aspects of the invention will be obtained from studying the following drawings and detailed description.